Catch Me, I'm Falling for You

Gomenasai, gomenasai, gomenasai:(( I'm soo sorry for the late update! It's just; school's been tiring, sheeshkabub! Well anyway, I'm still working on this…please…be patient. Your reviews are the only things that keep me going. Thanks for it. :) Again, comments/suggestions, review:) Enjoy! Even if I don't feel like updating, it makes my stomach churn knowing you are reading and supporting me…Thanks a lot!

Blackrose816…Thank you so so much for your continuing support:D

Reika, thanks for the idea! (Wink)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.

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Chapter 4: Love Fever

Natsume woke up on a huge bed. His scars were now covered in bandages and he was wearing blue pajamas. He tried getting up but he could barely move because of pain.

"Where am I? How did I get here?" he struggled to get up again but the pain kept burning inside him. "Damn it. I used too much Alice a while ago when Mikan…Mikan?! Where are you?!" he looked around.

"No matter what happens…I love you, Natsume"

He shook his head. "I gotta look for her." He slowly got up and limped his way carefully to and outside the door.

"If I don't control the use of my Alice, I'll probably die before I get there." He thought. his eyebrows kept curving out weird lines as he struggled limping by the hallway.

"Where…am…I? What just happened? Where did Shigeru end up to? Nggghhh….So…frustrated…What should I do?" he kept his balance by keeping one hand to lean on the wall. "I guess that's not important for now. Mikan is my…top priority…for now…" his vision was still blurry when random thoughts of Mikan came flowing back again…

"Natsume, you idiot!"

"As much as I hate saying this, I'll have to say it again. Thank you, Natsume."

"You're not such a mean person after all…"

"Polkadots?!"

"You saw my--?!" It was like, a million expressions of Mikan just started flashing in his head…and most of her expressions were…smiling.

Natsume smiled. "It's…amazing…how she…could manage to smile…for someone like…me…Even if…I treated her like she was an animal." After one more step, he felt a doorknob beside him. Again, he slowly opened it and found Mikan tucked neatly in bed, sleeping soundly. She had a few scars and bruises but they weren't that bad. He limped again carefully and sat down beside her.

"You're…okay…" he caressed her cheek with his hand, he could see her breathe slowly and calmly. "Knowing that you're safe…makes me…feel better." he zoomed nearer then he saw the faint glow in Mikan's love necklace.

"Wow…I can't…believe that were actually…starting to bond…." The raven haired boy stood up again but he felt his head crumbling as if there was an earthquake in it. After a few seconds, he collapsed on Mikan's lap, causing her to get up surprisingly.

"Natsume?! What happened?!" she hastily placed her hand on his forehead. "You have fever, HIGH fever!" Mikan stood up quickly then tucked him in bed. She got a damp cloth from the basin at the side table and gently wiped his tomato-red face. She could hear Natsume whine in pain.

"You'll be fine…Just stay calm…You're stressed." She whispered softly. She gazed around the room…wondering how she even got there. The walls were pink, draped with purple curtains and there was a bathroom beside the side table drawer. It was really simple.

"How did I get here…? What happened to Shigeru? Where am I??" she thought.

"M-m-m-i-i-k-kan…" the raven-haired boy stammered, reaching his pigtails friend's hand for comfort.

"I'm here. I won't leave you. I promise." She smiled as she squeezed Natsume's hand tightly…

"W-w-where a-are-" he's obviously forcing himself to talk so Mikan hushed him.

"Rest, Natsume. I have no idea where we are either but…I know where somewhere safe. Someone must've found us after the train crashed…or exploded." She concluded. "Please, get some rest, for me." She pleaded. Natsume finally nodded in agreement then drifted off to sleep but still NOT letting go of Mikan's hand. She tried hiding her blush, but it was useless.

"Mikan…once again, Natsume risked his life for you. You're an idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" she yelled hitting herself on the head.

"Stop talking to yourself. You sound so awkward." Mikan turned and saw Shigeru leaning by the door way.

"Shigeru? You survived the train crash? How?" she asked curiously.

"That's not important right now. What's wrong with Natsume? How did he get there?" he walked closer.

"I don't know how he got here…but he has fever…" she replied, stroking his raven-colored hair with her other hand. "Oh, is this your house?"

"Y-yes. I found two unconscious on the ground so… I took you home…" he explained shyly.

"I owe you big time, Shigeru… Thanks a lot…" she did her 'cute' smile again. Shigeru couldn't help but blush.

"D-don't mention it…. Uhmm…You need anything else?" he asked trying to hide cover his blushing red cheeks.

"Do you have a fever medicine or something? Natsume's fever isn't gonna lower down if I don't give a medicine." Mikan intertwined her fingers with Natsume's. A bit of jealousy struck her hazel-eyed friend.

"Y-yeah. Just wait here. I'll be right back." He immediately ran out of the room. In a few minutes, he returned with a small bottle and a medicine dropper clenched tightly in his hands. He handed it carefully to her.

"I can't thank you more enough…" she opened the bottle and used the dropper to suck some syrup off. After that, she inserted it slowly inside Natsume's mouth.

Shigeru smirked. "I have to warn you though, that medicine is effective but as for its taste…"

"ssppppffftttt!!!" Natsume spat out the medicine syrup at Mikan's face then got up. "What in hell are you making me drink?!" he howled, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"It's herb medicine! And you didn't have to spit it out on me! Can't you see I'm trying to get rid of your fever?!" she yelled back.

"You could've at least waked me up!" he replied angrily.

"Natsume…" she looked down sadly. "I just wanted to make you feel better…why do have to be so harsh?" then she glanced at him with teary eyes.

"Oh no…It's gonna take more than a pout to convince me drink that terrible thing." He lied back down facing the other side.

"Natsume! I'm serious! If you don't get better soon, Reo and the others will and will kill us! You think we're even ready to face them?! Hotaru, Ruka, Permy and everyone else are under his control! I thought you wanted to save them?!" she shrieked.

"Fine. Fine. If it's the only thing to stop you from blabbering." He swiped the medicine from Mikan and drank the whole bottle. "There, you happy now?!"

"More than happy, thanks." She smiled.

"Well…do you feel anything?" Shigeru approached him…he looked at him with a seriously evil glare.

"No. How the heck did you survive? That was a huge explosion." He questioned irritably.

"Natsume!" Mikan gave him a grumpy look but he seemed to ignore her.

"Its okay let me explain. Well like you two, I have an Alice. An Alice that is capable of making force fields to defend myself. When the ambush happened, I knew you would hate me more if I stuck my nose in your business so I decided to go inside and save as many people as I can since I thought something bad might happen. Because of the force field, the explosion didn't give us any serious damage. We were near the village so I walked my way there, then, I found you both on the ground. Get it?" he told them detail by detail.

"Whatever. Now, let me get some rest. I'm really tired. Good night!" he covered his head with the blanket signaling them a do-not-disturb gesture.

"Incase you didn't notice, you're sleeping on the bed where I was suppose to rest on." She crossed her arms.

"It's okay…You could go rest in my room if you want." Shigeru offered.

"No!!! Mikan, it's either you sleep here beside me or…you don't rest at all!!!" He scoffed placing a pillow in the middle of the bed.

"And who gave you the right to tell me what to do?! You're not my grandpa!" she fought back.

"Because I'm your partner, whether you like it or not, I'm supposed to take responsibility over you. Now, choose. I don't trust that guy one bit." He answered.

"If it wasn't for him, we'd be stranded in the middle of nowhere!! Hmph. Fine. I'm not gonna rest at all if I have to sleep beside you!" she finally decided as she opened and slammed the door.

"Why are you so hard on her?! Can't you see she's at least trying her best to heal you! Couldn't you even say thank you?! I'd be happy if someone cared for me!" he told him a little harshly.

"Butt off. Not because you have an Alice doesn't mean you could interfere with our mission. Don't think you know me." He replied coldly. "As for Mikan, I'm not stupid. I know you like her but get away from her. After I get better, we'll be leaving."

"Do what you want but you can't stop me from liking her. She's not your girlfriend or anything so you don't have the authority to give me orders like that. If it wasn't for Mikan holding your hand tightly, I wouldn't have brought you here. You have a bad approach on people. You better change that." He said also leaving the room.

"Hmph." He closed his eyes and went to sleep.

In the kitchen, Shigeru saw Mikan cooking hot soup and other simple recipies. He walked closer to her.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked smiling.

"I'm cooking something for Natsume. It's dinner anyway." She answered back cheerfully.

"You're not mad at him? After he said those harsh words?" he surprisingly questioned.

"Nah, I've been with him for like, 5 years. Yeah, I know he's cold and harsh at first but…once you get to know him…he's an amazingly loving person…He never abandons someone he considers a friend even if it means giving up his own life for it." She explained, stirring the soup.

"Why is he like that anyway?" he stretched out.

Mikan smiled. "He's been through a lot. He had a dangerous type of Alice so he was sent off in government missions. Well…Let's just say he has gone through a rocky past. That's why the only thing I could do is understand him." She was blushing at 5 shades of red. Shigeru kept blushing as well.

"I see…I'll try my best to understand him too…"

"Thank you, Shigeru." She bowed happily. "Come to think of it…how come I never saw you at Alice Academy?"

"It's for me to know and for you to find out. Really, I can't tell you." He smirked.

"Well…I didn't know I had an Alice in the first place…I came to the academy somehow because I wanted to see my best friend badly…Then, Naru-san discovered there was an Alice within me so…that's about it…" she explained.

"What is this so called 'mission' Natsume was talking about?" he asked curiously.

"We're going to southern part of this continent to find Reo's hideout. A few days ago, he ambushed the whole academy and manipulated them all. Persona, then assigned the both of us to stop him and get things back to normal…"

"But…the two of you…versus the academy? How-" Mikan cut him off.

"We'll do it. Trust me."

"O-okay…If you say so…hmm..Well…I'll just take a shower. I'll leave you here for the moment, okay?" he stepped out.

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After one hour…

The table was now set presentably. The soup steamed and smelled nicely along with the other dishes that Mikan cooked.

"Mikan, you did all of this?" Shigeru looked at the food hungrily.

"Yup! Help yourself. I'll just give this to Natsume." She carried the tray and went up the stairs slowly.

She entered the room and saw Natsume still red and asleep. She placed the tray at the side table then shook him gently.

"Natsume…time to eat…" she whispered softly. He got up slowly and rubbed his eyes for a clearer vision. Mikan placed the tray on his lap so he could eat.

"Polkadots?? You did all of this for me?"

"It was the least I could do after you got damaged because of me…Well then…bon appetite!" she said cheerfully. Natsume tried moving his hand but it seemed to be painful as it moved it. You could see it by his facial expression.

"You can't move? Don't worry…I'll help you with that." She got the bowl and spoon then started feeding Natsume.

"It's good…Who knew someone like you was good at cooking." He said sarcastically. Mikan ignored it and kept smiling, positioning the spoon towards her sick friend's mouth.

He sipped it quietly.

When he was finished eating, Mikan stood up to take the tray back to the kitchen.

"Oi, Polkadots!" Natsume called her. She looked back at him.

"Huh?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Thank you…" He uttered, he felt his cheeks warming up again, and then lied back down in bed.

"Y-your w-welcome." She stammered, blushing as well. "I'll be back, okay?"

"Okay."

"Natsume…he actually said 'Thank you'….Damn it….I feel I have butterflies in my tummy." She thought…then she met Shigeru by the stairs.

"Good night, Mikan. Thanks for the dinner." He smiled sleepily. "Watch over Natsume."

"Sure…good night." She continued back down then brought the dishes back to the kitchen. After that she went back up to check on Natsume's fever. She placed her hand again on his forehead. Thank goodness…it lowered down. She got the damp cloth again and placed it on his head. She stretched up and sat on the chair beside the bed.

"You're tired, right?" Natsume commented.

"Yeah." She let a yawn slip then rested her head on her raven-haired friend's arm. "You don't mind if I borrow your arm for the night, right?" She asked sleepily.

"G-go ahead. I don't mind." He smirked.

"Good night…" she murmured before drifting off to sleep. Natsume blushed lightly…

"Night." He slept as well with Mikan's head rested on her arm. Again, the love necklaces' glow became a little brighter than before.

-End Chapter-

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Wow! It was a bit longer than I expected it to be!! Well…That's about it! I'll try my best to update sooner, okay? Please bear with me. :) Anyway, comments/ suggestions…I'm open for reviews. Thanks for reading:)